Football-NFL

Wilson F1825 NFL Pro Replica Game Football (Official Size)
$50.99
Nothing more need be said exept it is slippery when wet and will not lose the moiosture if thrown or spun, if badly wet it needs to dry

Madden NFL 10
$59.99
New year, same old EA mediocrity. I'll get right to it.


CONS:


DUMB AI/GAMEPLAY ISSUES-

You spot a receiver whose got 4 feet of separation on his defender and you perfectly lead your man with the pass only to have him jump back 5 yards to catch the ball. So on a pass where your receiver should have made the catch, never even broken stride, and instantly turned upfield, he instead jumped BACK 15 feet, made the catch, THEN turned upfield at which time the defender has now closed the aforementioned 4 feet of distance between the two and makes the tackle for a two yard reception on what should have been a 10 yard gain. Amazingly, the computer's players NEVER do this.

If you're using accelerated clock, CPU controlled teammates don't move with any sense of urgency when you check off to a different play. There will be 8 seconds left on the play clock and I'll audible to a play that requires my tight end to shift to the other side of the offensive line, and instead of doing it quickly, he'll purposely go sauntering over there like he's on a Sunday stroll. Due to this lackadaisical attitude, he won't be set before the play clock expires, thereby resulting in a delay of game penalty. Really, EA? So, in real life QB's are the only guys on the field who are aware of the play clock?

After all these years EA still hasn't figured out that they should either automatically make my players switch the ball to their outside arm when breaking a big play, or give us a button to do it ourselves. It's completely moronic to be running down the sideline with the ball on the side of the approaching defender, since obviously I can't stiff arm somebody with my ball hand. Switching the ball to your outside hand is something every football player is taught from Pop Warner on.

I've been using "Beginner" play call mode this year, because I finally decided that I don't want to call plays anymore. I grew up dreaming of being an NFL player, not an NFL head coach. Therefore, I don't want to have to CALL the plays, I just want to EXECUTE them. It's nice that EA allows this feature. It would be even nicer if it was at all sensible. Most games I've noticed that the CPU coach will call about 2 or 3 Wildcat formations a game, which is realistic as that's about how many most teams run. However, the other day I played my first game as the Dolphins the week they were going up against the Jets. My CPU coach again only called the Wildcat 2 times all game. Seriously, EA? Yeah, because we all know that Miami runs the Wildcat just like every other NFL team, right? Oh wait, no THEY DON'T. So when I watched the real life Dolphins-Jets game afterward, Miami ran the Wildcat 15 times! Now, I'm not saying the CPU coach should have called it the EXACT same amount, but it should have been within a couple, more or less. Instead, he called it 1/8 as frequently. Unacceptable, EA. If you're going to call the plays, then do it as the real coach/team would.

Also, when letting the CPU coach call the game, they never give near enough carries to your backup running back.

The benefits of Pro-Tak are negligible, at best.



CHEATING-

As soon as any game gets under two minutes the CPU becomes unstoppable. Even if their offense/defense has been a joke the first 58 minutes of the game, suddenly they become the '99 Rams/'85 Bears in the last two.

CPU gets away with mad amounts of pass interference. They'll bump-n-run you 15 yards downfield. Not only do they get away with it, but because their interference didn't allow my receiver to run his route, they are able to step in front of him and get an interception they wouldn't have otherwise gotten.

CPU makes WAY too many shoelace tackles.



DESIGN FLAWS-

What happened to real player's voices? You can do all of their signature isomotion moves EA, but you couldn't pony up the money to have Peyton Manning come in and give his actual voice for the snaps? I want to hear "Omaha" in that distinctive twang, or Favre's gravelly "Blue 42". Not only do they not have actual voices, they didn't even attempt to get decent replications. Peyton's guy sounds like he's black one play, then white the next, and even then the white guy sounds like an accountant, not anything like Manning. If it's in the game, it's in the game. Really? So, Peyton Manning disguises his voice in a real game? False advertising.

Let me get this straight. So in the NBA, games are played nightly, and EA updates rosters nightly, in MLB, games are played nightly, so EA updates rosters nightly, in the NHL, games are played nightly and EA updates them nightly. In the NFL games are played weekly, so EA updates the rosters BI-weekly? Huh? This makes sense how? Not only that, but certain players may be injured yet still show up on special teams. For instance, Polamalu from the Steelers was injured in the first half of the first game of their season, and was out for a month, yet every time I played as the Steelers for the next four weeks, there he was on special teams. Idiots.

While I'm on the subject of rosters, why do I still have to sign into EA's Madden site and click on Depth Chart just to download the newest roster updates? This should be setup similar to 2K's basketball games, where every time I load the game it AUTOMATICALLY downloads the newest roster updates for Play Now mode games.

Adding real life weather conditions is a great feature. Too bad you can only use it in "Franchise Mode". It doesn't apply at all in Play Now. Why? As if that isn't bad enough, they took away the gamer's ability to pick the weather, or even time of the day for themselves. Thanks, EA Nazis.

Instant replay is horrible. Apparently, in 2009 we still can't figure out how to keep my personal replay settings. Therefore, every time I go to the replay screen the camera is zoomed all the way back in and I have to manually pull it all the way back out to get it to the angle I like to watch replays from. Why can't we just leave it at my settings all the time, EA? 2K's been doing this for years. Also, when I want to spot shadow a certain player and I try to move the white circle onto that player, it's constantly catching on every OTHER player on the field. This has actually regressed over the years. WISH - I'd really like to see a complete overhaul of the IR system to more of a Tiger Woods type setup. One where I have four different camera angles that I can watch a replay from on-the-fly by pressing up/down/left/right on the directional pad. Also, IR doesn't show the WHOLE replay. Pathetic. I love how I made three great juke/truck moves within five yards of the line of scrimmage that allowed me to then go on a big run, yet when I watch the replay it doesn't go back far enough for me to actually SEE any of these jukes, and instead just picks up the replay where I'm already running unabated. Top notch, EA.

Still can't look at a replay BEFORE I decide to challenge it, even though in real life that's exactly what the coaches upstairs are doing.

Next gen, massive more processing power, and still no variety of gameplay camera angles. So we're actually losing things that we had in last gen. Great job, EA.

More menu issues. When I'm in practice mode, and I pull up the menu and click on "Quit Practice", it takes me back to the screen that says "Practice Type", then makes me click on the "Cancel" button to finally get to the main menu. Did I not just tell it to "Quit Practice"? (What didn't you understand about this, EA?) Then take me straight back to the main menu. If all I wanted to do was change practice type, I could have done that from the practice screen's menu.

No way to accurately tell what team ratings are in a Play Now game. When the game is loading it will give a rundown of each team's strengths and weaknesses. Only it just gives some stupid little 1 to 3 notch rating. Really, EA? Because it would be so hard to simply give a numerical rating from 1 to 100 of each team's stats?

Took away last gen's ability to save a game halfway through. I love how MORE powerful technology results in LESS control. Sweet.

The Cheatriots Bill Belicheat is still listed as NE Coach. This is actually due to Belicheat being a pompous punk, more than it is any fault of EA's, but I always like to to tweek the little girl New England fans whenever I get the chance.



PROS:


Vibration to let you know when you're about to get sacked.



THE CLINCHER-

In-game advertising. I absolutely refuse to be inundated with commercial junk, especially when I'm already paying these chumps $60. GET YOUR DRIVEL OUT OF MY FACE, EA!


I've got about 10-20 more gripes with this game, but quite simply, I'm tired of typing. So, in conclusion, don't waste your time.

NFL Record and Fact Book 2009 (Official National Football League Record and Fact Book)
$17.95
Whatever you need to know about the NFL, it's in this book. Want to see the standings from any previous season (including the AFL)? It's in this book. Want to see the final score of any NFL game ever? It's in this book. Want to see this season's complete week-by-week schedule? It's in this book. Want to see the NFL's tie-breaking rules? It's in this book. Want to see how the Passer Rating is calculated? It's in this book. Want to see the 32 team rosters? It's in this book. Want to see the roster of NFL officials? It's in this book. Any NFL fan should buy this book every season.

Football Outsiders Almanac 2009: The Essential Guide to the 2009 NFL and College Football Seasons
$21.95
They try to replicate the Baseball Prospectus and generally do a good job. But some predictions, like the ones with Kevin Jones a few years back and Michael Turner last year were way off. Take it with a grain of salt but it is better than any magazine out there in the pre-season.